Alan Lightman is a rarity: a theoretical physicist and a serious contender in the world of literary fiction, with four novels under his belt and a shortlisting in the prestigious US National Book Awards for The Diagnosis.
His latest novel walks a fascinating line between the possibility of paranormal events and their consequences. David, a sensitive, introverted fellow on the brink of middle age, is living in a quiet American town. After a series of failures in relationships and jobs, he ends up working in a mortuary. One day in the “slumber room”, where bodies are laid out in…
